Angelique Kerber vs. Kiki Bertens, Singapore RR Preview

The top seeded Angelique Kerber begins her Singapore campaign on Monday night against WTA Finals debutant Kiki Bertens. On paper this is the greatest mismatch of all the group stage matches but Kerber has not been in the greatest form of late and the newly crowned most improved player on the year Kiki Bertens is having the greatest season of her career. Can Bertens pull off the upset?

Kiki Bertens of the Netherlands in action during the first round at the 2018 Dongfeng Motor Wuhan Open WTA Premier 5 tennis tournament

Angelique Kerber is the top seeded player in the draw and the player with the most Grand Slam titles to her name (3). However, Kerber’s form since winning Wimbledon earlier this year has not been great which has been true of her tendency to struggle after winning a major title. Kerber has achieved a modest 5-5 win/loss record since Wimbledon and has to be desperate to recapture her early season form to end another memorable season on a high.

Kiki Bertens is essentially playing with house money in Singapore. Bertens was part of the late dash for spots in Singapore as she competed in Moscow last week. Bertens seemingly blew her chance of qualifying when she was defeated in the first round by Aliaksandra Sasnovich but the withdrawal of Simona Halep handed Bertens a spot in the elite 8. Bertens has also been in modest form of late having won 4 of her last 8 matches, more importantly Bertens has been beaten by players she would expect to beat.

Kerber holds a 2-1 head-to-head record over Bertens. The most recent match between the two took place at Roland Garros earlier this year where Kerber claimed a tight straight set win.